Senior figures in and around the Liberal Party are considering whether to enter the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but it remains unclear if a new face can breathe new life into the party’s electoral chances.
After weeks of mounting calls to resign, Trudeau announced Monday he’ll step down as soon as his party chooses a successor.
The Governor General has also agreed to his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24 — giving Trudeau’s party just 76 more days to mount a leadership campaign and ready for an all-but-certain spring election all while trailing the Conservatives by more than 20 points in the polls.
It’s a daunting task, said Dan Arnold, the chief strategy officer at Pollara who previously worked as Trudeau’s pollster, and might not be enough to add oomph to the party’s floundering fortunes.
“Liberals, they got a big hole to get out of right …